There is one interesting thing to note though, this is yet another nail in the Ed Balls coffin. As Rawnsley deigned to tell us a week or so ago, Balls has been fighting the local devolution policy, which he described as a “profound and important fault-line with big implications for how Labour might govern”. On one side of the fight was Cruddas, Andonis and Byrne with opposition “coming from more conventionally-minded types on both left and right”. Like Balls:

“Ed Balls is regarded as a key figure in this debate. There is a traditional Treasury objection to loosening the reins of control, which is almost invariably shared by chancellors and would-be chancellors.”